No Charges in PG County Man's Death After Stun Gun Use

Police will not be charged in the death of a Prince George’s County man after he was shocked by police with a stun gun during a Hagerstown burglary, say prosecutors, who note an autopsy showed he was high.

The Washington County state’s attorney’s office reviewed the actions of five police officers in the April 24 death of Darrell Lawrence Brown, 31, of Upper Marlboro, reports WTOP. The Washington County Sheriff’s Office investigated the confrontation between the Hagerstown city police officers and Brown.

Police say they used a stun gun to subdue Brown after he reportedly broke into a home and then resisted arrested, WJLA TV says. Authorities say Brown died either in an ambulance or at a local hospital.

The homeowners told police they didn’t know Brown.

The autopsy found Brown died from drug-induced “excited delirium in the setting of police restraint,” reports WTOP. The state medical examiner’s office said it couldn’t determine if Brown’s death was a homicide, suicide or accident.

But the Washington County State’s Attorney said evidence that Brown was intoxicated with synthetic drugs sold illegally as “bath salts,” along with his odd behavior, pointed to drugs as a significant factor in his death.